A first look at second chances

Today I was inspired and motivated by second chances. I had the privilege of attending Harrisburg Area Community College's S.T.E.P. Academy graduation. The graduates were made up of a group of men and one woman who, in their past, maybe took a wrong turn, but were there now to make a right one. Who were ready to "step up" and make a better future for themselves and ready themselves with the tools they need to be successful in today's workforce.

U.S. Chamber: Workforce is Key to Nation’s Economic Growth

November 21, 2017

“We need to create jobs!” This rally cry may be the most commonly-used phrase of elected officials and business leaders in the decade since the Great Recession, and it’s finally earned some vacation time. With the economy close to full employment, perhaps it’s time to shift our focus to the hard part: creating workers.

Their Time to Shine: The mikeroweWORKS Foundation’s Work Ethic Scholarship Recipients Head into a Bright Future With the Support of PA Chamber

November 21, 2017

Last year, the PA Chamber Educational Foundation commissioned a study about the struggles facing Pennsylvania employers in terms of the quality of their workforce and the job candidates pool. The results showed what we’d long heard anecdotally — business owners in a position to hire were having a difficult time finding qualified job candidates with the skills necessary to fill these roles. We knew that closing this jobs skills gap wasn’t a problem that the business community could handle singularly, and that bringing attention to it meant doing something big. In this case, ‘big’ meant hosting a Workforce Summit last year that featured Executive Producer and Show Host Mike Rowe, best known as “the dirtiest man on TV” from the hit TV series Dirty Jobs, as the keynote speaker.

An Ally to Industry in Bridging the Skills Gap

November 21, 2017

The skills gap is a multifaceted issue and a growing threat to employers’ competitiveness and financial well-being. The U.S. Department of Labor emphasizes that more jobs are open now — 6.2 million in June — than at any time since it began tracking this data in 2000.

A Green Light to a Second Chance: Uber, Lawmakers Work to Help Individuals with Criminal Records Earn Gainful Employment

November 21, 2017

Pennsylvania has a business problem. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians with a criminal conviction are being prevented from access to housing, education and, most importantly, work opportunities. And the cost is enormous. According to 2015 statistics from Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, connecting just 100 formerly convicted Pennsylvanians with jobs produces $55 million in earnings and yields $1.9 million in wage tax contributions over their lifetimes.

Like so many companies in Pennsylvania, Elsner Engineering in Hanover needed to find a way to close the gap that exists between job candidates’ skills and what the company was looking for. And with multiple parties involved with shared responsibility—educators, employers, students and their families—tackling the major question, “What do we do about it?” was daunting.

Brookville Equipment

July 24, 2017

Brookville Equipment is the little company that could. With over 200 employees, they have become an innovator in manufacturing transportation solutions specializing in locomotive, mining and streetcars.